Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Oh my! Time does fly! I'm not trying to jolt anyone into reality here, but - 2017 is 1/4 over already!!! It's been more than two weeks since my last post and I am literally shocked at how fast the time has gone by! What have I been up to? Well, I'll tell you...

Remember the garden shed I started before vacation? When we got home I thought I'd get it finished up before I proceeded on the flower shop. I was brimming with ideas and enthusiasm and wanted to strike while the iron was hot. It was small, so it would take only a couple days, right? Um, no. Although I have dedicated the better part of each day to it's many, many little side projects, it is still not quite finished. But I am sharing the progress anyway.

This is what I started with - an idea in my head which probably sprang to life after looking at loads of mini gardening photos online surveying for ideas on the flower shop. I drew out a rough idea of the framing and decided I'd figure out all the issues as I went along.

Rough framing and floor. Extra window from the 2013 Creatin' Contest kit.

The above photo is where I had to stop just before we left for vacation. It was a good thing because it gave me lots of "windshield time" to consider how I was going to do the roof.

At first I was going to just add a piece of corrugated cardboard that I had left from the Greenleaf Ashai Teahouse kit (now Alki Point). I figured I'd paint and rust it then glue it on. A little voice told me to wait so that I could more easily reach inside the structure. I'm glad I waited...

While that was marinating I turned my attention to putting together all of the kits and making the printies. I spent several days on that part of the project. It is amazing how much stuff can go into even a little structure!

I did a lot of ageing and rusting to everything using layers of chalk paint and antique wax. I experimented with galvanizing paper, rust techniques, and even added some tiny nails. I wanted the shed to look as though it had seen many, many years. I may have gone overboard, but I just love the way it turned out!

I had a package of these Darice Moon Lights in my electrical drawer. I got to looking at the battery pack, wanting to make it accessible but not take away from the look of the shed. Suddenly, I saw an electric meter box!

Just add rust, a straw for the wires, a cabochon and a meter printy and there you go! The lid snaps open for easy access to the batteries! I carved channels out of the wood beams for the wire to lay through.

The lights themselves were really bright LED's. I toned them down a bit by painting the bulbs with a little yellow Gallery Glass paint. Now the light looks more ambient and airplanes won't try to land on them. I wrapped them around an unfinished metal circus wheel and hung that from the ceiling beam with wire. It's rustic, but purposefully so. You can see I also changed my mind about the corrugated roof and went with the skylight windows instead. I'm glad I did because the extra light and being able to see inside is nice.

Here's what the outside/front side is shaping up to look like. I made some hanging baskets and more planters, and I still need to add moss in the floor cracks. But I'm getting close to Ta-Done!

As many of you are painfully aware, flowers and plants take a looooong time to make. And I made a lot of them. Some were cheater snips from larger "fake" greenery, two of them were kits, and the rest were made from punched paper petals and leaves. Knowing how long it took me to fill up the garden shed, I certainly have my work cut out for me on the flower shop!

Below are some of the interior photos. To make the decor I utilized a number of mediums: a lot of printies for milk carton seedlings, books, galvanized pots, seed packets, artwork for the walls, bulb paper bags and labels. I made a few things like a radio, birdhouses, planters, signs, baskets etc. with wood and precious scraps of what-knots. Every "store bought" piece was lovingly bashed, aged, dirtied up and rusted. It was so much fun to get messy!

See the mouse next to his hole?

If any of you would like the patterns for the milk cartons, galvanized pots, wall art, seed packets or book covers, I am happy to share. I am also happy to spill the beans on how I made the punched flowers and plants, what I used for rust and galvanized metal and any other secrets I know. Just shoot me an email: jodihippler(at)gmail(dot)com.

Now I need to clean up and reorganize my work room. The flower shop is calling, as is the as yet unopened Creatin' Contest kit and the advent calender I'd like to finish this year. Better get a move on - it will be December again before we know it!

Happy Spring!
Jodi

Botanique Begins...

It is so exciting for me to start a new project! I used to get the same giddy feeling when I was little and got a brand new box of crayons. So many possibilities in one little box.

Speaking of little box, you may remember that for the flower shop I am using a chipboard kit from Alpha Stamps. Its called the Storefront Roombox. It measures 10" tall x 10" wide x 5-1/2" deep. I feel like I can pack in a lot of visual lusciousness without taking up much precious display space in the 1:1 house. And the amazing price means I have more cash to splurge on some special pieces.

It is super simple to dry fit and pull back apart for planning. There are offset tabs and slots and the chipboard is sturdy with just enough give. An added bonus is how much less space it takes up on my work table than a large project. I can lay out all of the materials - if I can see them, it is less likely that I will forget to use them (I hate when I do that).

I was surfing around the Greenleaf store contemplating another project (thanks mom and dad for the birthday mini money!) when I came across their new patterned doors. I instantly thought they would make wonderful wall panels. There are a front and matching back panel to the doors so you get two panels for every door you buy. Plus, they include a full size solid door panel to center in between the panels and a piece of frosted "glass". Even the panel waste pieces can be used for a multitude of things. Not bad for $4.95!

I used them as wall panels in the shop and have plans for the "waste" shapes, as well. Here is where I need to tell you that in addition to my build, I am simultaneously working on a surprise project for a very special person. I may show glimpses of that project now and again, but mostly it will be in secret until after it has been given to the recipient. Hence, the panels painted blue and in obviously different shapes than the panels in my shop.

Over the last several days I have added the wallpaper, panels, moldings, fireplace, mirror and flooring. The flooring I am using is one that I have wanted to try out for several years now - like since I did the Starbucks in 2013. Well, I finally ordered it from HBS/Miniatures.com and it is awesome. It is the 1/24th scale latex brick sheet. It looks and feels amazing and the detail is wonderful.  The area of brick that sticks out past the side wall will be the shop's outside display area. I may paint the brick in the shop interior, but for the exterior I will just add some moss and mold. You know, the kind of stuff that Weed-B-Gone never really works on for long in real life.

The hole in the side wall is going to get a bay window later on. The chipboard is so much easier to cut than 1/8" plywood that alterations are A-OK!

I have a lot of lighting to add - ceiling fixtures, sconces and lamps. They are all 12 volt, but the wires will connect to battery packs which I plan to hide in a false ceiling. That is another great thing about the chipboard - easy to punch out small holes for wires.

I am working on a fancy design and finish for the ceiling. This is where I'm at so far. I need to make it removable to access the interior, so that is a challenger I'll have to face later on.

I'm working on some of the shelving that will run along the tops of the wall panels. Then I'll start some of the table, shelf and display kits to see what's going to work and what I have to customize to maximize display space.

I only have a couple more days before I have to put the minis away and turn my attention to other exciting things. Starting Saturday, Russ and I will be finalizing plans and packing for our 30th wedding anniversary!!! Three weeks of road tripping, camping, desert southwesting and family visiting! It just freaks me out to realize that it was 1987 when we got married. I can tell you the years went by like a flash, probably because they were all so special and wonderful! He truly is my best friend and my favorite person in the world!

Last but not least, I would like to take a moment to thank HBS for their amazing generosity! It is so much fun to participate in the Creatin' Contest, but to receive Honorable Mention is beyond what I ever dreamed of! Thanks so much for hosting such a wonderful event every year! It must be so hard to choose the winners from the vast pool of tremendously talented and creative contestants! I can't wait to see all of the entries!

xxx

Christmas Dammit! And Other Good Things...

Remember that flu I mentioned in my last post? It just kept coming around - again and again! My poor mom ended up in the hospital for 5 days with the stuff, and still felt terrible for another 5 days after they let her out!  I was back down for three days, and my dad had to have 2 rounds of antibiotics to quash his resulting sinus infection. Just a mean and nasty bug that I hope we have finally beat for good!

Due to all of the sickness and the hospital stay, we had to postpone our family Christmas celebration again - for another week. There has been so many obstacles to all of us getting together that I started referring to it as Christmas Dammit! Because in spite of all the road blocks, WE WILL HAVE CHRISTMAS DAMMIT! Festivities take place tomorrow (God willing), and then life will resume as "normal" again (she says with her eternal optimism firmly installed).

In the meantime, some really wonderful things have been sprinkled into the mix. I was contacted by a miniature publication and asked to write a few veggie tutorials for an upcoming issue. Of course I said yes, even though the level of confidence I have in my mini abilities is not a truly comfortable one. But, I know that challenges are how we grow, so I welcomed the opportunity. It will cover how to make an easy raised planter and include four different (paper craft) vegetables. It's been fun to work on, and I am about half way finished!

I hope to start the next project just as soon as I finish the tutorials - it feels like my mini life stopped when I got sick in December, and I am looking so forward to delving into projects and the community once again. I get so cranky otherwise! :O) I'll be using another chipboard kit from Alpha Stamps as the structure for the flower shop. I really enjoyed making cooking scenes in the secret book kits that are offered from them! The chipboard kits are:

1. Affordable.
2. Easy to assemble.
3. Easier than wood to alter.
4. Small enough to finish (and enjoy looking at) pretty quickly.

I also love that I can use scrapbooking sets to paper and coordinate both the inside and outside of the structure. It's really like miniatures meets collage art - so much to get creative with and enjoy! I hope that it will inspire you to branch out, as well!

I am using the Gilded Lily papers from Graphics 45. They are wonderful!

Monday I'll work on the Swiss Chard (for the third time - my leaf veining really stinks!) and lettuce, then hopefully turn to the floral side of mini botany - speaking of which, the working title for the flower shop is Botanique. A little French, you say? Oui, oui!

Have a wonderful and healthy weekend!

And Then The Flu Happened...

Uh huh... and it was all going so well! I won't bore you with the long and painful story. Suffice to say we are alive and breathing. Nearly three weeks have gone by but I am starting to resume normal life again... I truly hope that all of you had a much better ending to 2016 than I! I hope to be reassured of this as I go back and catch up on all of the posts and happenings that I missed!

Because the hubs and son were working out of town for most of December, and because The Flu Happened, we will be observing Christmas (and all fall/winter birthdays)with our closest family on January 14th. Hey! Better late than never, right? But party prep and planning are in full swing here, so the minis have been demoted to the end of the priority list.

 Let me just tease you with a few up-to-date photos of the cookbook projects and tell you that many new and exciting developments are afoot in my mini world and I can't wait to share it all! Soon, very soon!

Mine...

Tasha's...

Hope to see you all back here the week of January 16th! Until then, I hope you are all well and off to an exciting 2017, too!